New Delhi:

The Indian government will “naturally oppose any move giving political space to extremism and advocacy of violence”, the Foreign Ministry said Friday in its weekly press briefing. The ministry also said India had protested with the Canadian High Consulate in Delhi and asked for appropriate action.

The reference was to the Canadian parliament observing a moment of silence in the memory of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed outside a gurdwara in Canada’s British Columbia province last year. A video released by news agency IANS showed MPs observing silence after Speaker Greg Fergus said, “… I understand there is an agreement to observe a moment of silence in memory of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, assassinated in Surrey one year ago today.”

Nijjar was wanted in India for being the “mastermind” of the Khalistani Tiger Force, a designated terror group in this country. Last July, anti-terror agency NIA announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh for the capture of Nijjar in connection with the murder of a Hindu priest in Punjab’s Jalandhar.

READ | India’s Kanishka Reply To Canada Parliament’s Nijjar Move

Nijjar is also accused in the 2007 bombing of a cinema in Punjab.

On his killing, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed “agents” of the Indian government were involved in killing Nijjar, a Canadian citizen. Those allegations, repeated frequently since, have led to tense relations between the two nations, including awkward moments between the Canadian leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi when India held the G20 Summit last year.

India has firmly rubbished Canada’s allegations, calling them “absurd” and “motivated” and noting that Mr Trudeau has yet to provide evidence, of any sort, to back his claim.

“Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists… who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Inaction of Canada is a matter of continuing concern,” the Indian side had side.

Nijjar’s murder is being investigated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and four Indian nationals have been arrested.

On the Canadian parliament’s move to honour the memory of Nijjar, the Indian consulate in Vancouver announced a memorial service – to be held on Sunday – to pay tribute to the 329 victims of the Air India flight bombed by Khalistani terrorists in 1985.

The Air India Flight travelling from Montreal to London had blown up 31,000 feet above the ground when a bomb planted by Canadian Sikh terrorists went off. The 329 passengers killed in the incident included 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens, and 24 Indian citizens. This bombing is among the deadliest acts of aviation terrorism.

On that subject an Indian-origin Canada MP, Chandra Arya, said the ideology responsible for the terrorist attack is still alive among a few people in his country.

READ | Canada MP On Kanishka Bombing, Says “Dark Forces Energised Again”

Speaking in the Canadian Parliament, he said the celebration of ex-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination by “Khalistani supporters” demonstrated that “dark forces have been energised again”.

He also highlighted the concerns of Hindu Canadians regarding recent incidents.

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A view of the High Commission of India, in Ottawa, Canada.
| Photo Credit: AP

Canada has welcomed India’s decision to resume some visa services in the country from October 26, saying the move was a “good sign” after “an anxious time” for many Canadians, amid a diplomatic row over the killing of a Sikh separatist.

India’s High Commission in Canada said on October 25 that the country’s officials will resume processing some types of visa applications for Canadians applying from across the country as well as abroad.

Also read | An India-Canada bonding that is in danger of snapping

The decision came a month after New Delhi suspended the services in Canada and for Canadian citizens worldwide as tensions flared between the two nations last month following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia.

India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. India has rejected Mr. Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.

On Wednesday afternoon, Immigration Minister Marc Miller called India’s move “a good sign” after “an anxious time” for his many Canadians.

“Our feeling is that a suspension should never have happened in the first place,” he was quoted as saying by CTV News.

He said the “really concerning diplomatic situation with India has created a lot of fear in a lot of communities.” Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan, who is also a Sikh, said the resumption of visa processing is good news, but wouldn’t speculate on what message New Delhi is trying to send.

“It’s good to see that they have resumed that. It would have been nice (if) they didn’t take it in the first place,” Mr. Sajjan told reporters.

He said it was important that Indians and Canadians can go back and forth when it comes to events such as weddings and funerals. He added that Ottawa is still seeking India’s help as police investigate the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India will resume services for entry visas, business visas, medical visas and conference visas.

Marilyne Guevremont, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada (GAC) – the department that manages the country’s diplomatic and consular relations, told CBC News that GAC is aware of the Indian government’s “decision to resume certain categories of visa processing for Canadians.” “Canada and India share important people-to-people ties and India’s resumption of visa services will make it easier for families and businesses to travel between our countries,” Ms. Guevremont.

In a statement, the Canada-India Business Council said it was “a promising development” for trade relations. “It is also a positive sign that both governments have expressed their support for bilateral business and investments amidst these unusual times,” wrote council head Victor Thomas. The development came days after Canada pulled out 41 of its diplomats from India.

Before Mr. Trudeau’s announcement dramatically heightened tensions between Canada and India, New Delhi had publicly denounced protests by Sikh separatist groups outside its diplomatic missions in Canada, as well as posters that appeared to offer cash rewards in exchange for the home addresses of Indian diplomats. India formally called on Canada to better uphold its duty to protect foreign diplomats.

India had also asked Canada to come down hard on terrorists and anti-India elements operating from its soil and suspended visa services for Canadians.

High Commission of Canada in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Canada said Thursday it had withdrawn 41 diplomats from India – fallout from a bitter row over the killing of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.

New Delhi planned to revoke diplomatic immunity for all but 21 of Canada’s diplomats and their families by Friday, forcing Ottawa to pull out the others, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said.

“We have facilitated their safe departure from India,” Ms. Joly added. “This means that our diplomats and their families have now left.”

Relations between India and Canada have plunged since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month publicly linked Indian intelligence to the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which New Delhi has denied.

Nijjar, who advocated for a separate Sikh state carved out of India, was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.

“Revoking the diplomatic immunity of 41 diplomats is not only unprecedented, but also contrary to international law,” Ms. Joly said Wednesday, but said Canada did not plan to retaliate in kind, so as to not “aggravate the situation.”

“Canada will continue to defend international law, which applies to all nations and will continue to engage with India,” she said.

“Now more than ever we need diplomats on the ground and we need to talk to one another,” Ms. Joly added.

Countermeasures

Canada has called for India to cooperate in the investigation but New Delhi has rejected the allegations and taken countermeasures, such as shutting down visa services for Canadians.

Ottawa also expelled an Indian diplomat over the affair.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said last month in New York that his country would be willing to examine any evidence presented by Canada.

“We have actually been badgering the Canadians. We’ve given them loads of information about organized crime leadership which operates out of Canada,” Mr. Jaishankar said, referring to Sikh separatists.

“We have a situation where actually our diplomats are threatened, our consulates have been attacked and often comments are made (that are) interference in our politics,” he said.

The Indian government has called the Canadian accusations over the killing “absurd” and advised its nationals not to travel to certain Canadian regions “given the increase in anti-Indian activities.”

Also read | Indian students in Canada worried about lack of job opportunities

New Delhi also temporarily stopped processing visa applications in Canada.

Nijjar, who immigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a Canadian citizen in 2015, was shot dead by two masked assailants in the parking lot of a Sikh temple near Vancouver in June.

Canada is home to some 770,000 Sikhs, who make up about two percent of the country’s population, with a vocal group calling for creating a separate state of Khalistan.

The Sikh separatist movement is largely finished within India, where security forces used deadly force to put down an insurgency in the state of Punjab in the 1980s.

Hundreds of Sikh protesters rallied outside Indian diplomatic missions in Canada last month, burning flags and trampling on pictures of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The tensions between Ottawa and New Delhi have created a delicate situation for close Canadian ally Washington, which has in recent months taken steps to move closer to India as the United States seeks to limit Chinese influence in the region.

New York City:

Alleging that the agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada, an independent blogger, Jennifer Zeng, has said that China’s “purpose was to frame India creating discord between India and the West”.

She also alleged that it was a part of the CCP’s sinister “Ignition Plan” to disrupt the world in line with Xi Jinping’s military strategy regarding Taiwan.

Jennifer Zeng is a Chinese born rights activist, journalist who is currently living in the US.

In a video posted on the social media platform, X, Zeng dubbed the killing of Nijjar as an assassination claiming, “Today shocking revelations about the ‘assassination ‘ of Sikh religious leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada have emerged from within the CCP. It is alleged that the ‘assassination’ was carried out by CCP agents.”

On 18 June 2023, Hardeep Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India, was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.

The independent blogger attributed her allegations to Chinese writer and YouTuber Lao Deng, who according to her, lives in Canada now.

“Lao stated that in early June this year as part of their disruption initiative ‘Ignition Plan’, the CCP Ministry of State Security sent a high-ranking official to Seattle, USA. A secret meeting was held there…The objective was to sabotage relations between India and the West,” Zeng claims in the video posted on X.

“The agents were tasked with assassinating Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Sikh leader in Canada. Following the meeting, the CCP agents meticulously executed the killing plan,” she claimed.

Explaining their modus operandi, the independent blogger alleges, “On June 18th, the agents armed with silenced guns tracked Nijjar. When the deed was done, they destroyed the dash camera in Nijjar’s Car to erase any evidence. After the crime, the agents fled, they burned their weapons and disguises to destroy all traces. The next day they left Canada in Airplanes.”

She also alleged that the killers even purposely learned Indian-accent English. “Therefore, they purposely spoke in India accent English…In fact, these actions were part of the scheme by CCP secret agent to frame India,” said Zeng.

She also claimed that Lao revealed that the CCP’s ‘ignition plan’ was devised this year after the CCP’s two sessions.

There has been no response to Jennifer Zeng’s allegations, posted in the video on Sunday afternonn (US time) from either the Chinese foreign ministry or the Ministry of External Affairs.

The diplomatic ties between India and Canada soured after the Canadian government expelled a senior Indian diplomat accusing India of playing a role in the killing of a Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

In the aftermath, India swiftly retaliated by issuing a statement that denied any involvement in the issue and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat. India has outrightly rejected the claims, calling it ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’.

Amid escalating tensions, India has called for parity in the number of Canadian diplomats in India.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi earlier this month said that Canadian diplomatic presence is much higher in India and they assume “there would be reduction”.

“On discussions on parity, given the much higher presence of diplomats or diplomatic presence here and their interference in our internal matters, we have sought parity in our respective diplomatic presence. Discussions are ongoing to achieve this. Given that Canadian diplomatic presence is higher, we would assume that there would be a reduction,” said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

New Delhi:
In a move towards defusing tension with India, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Ottawa is not looking to “escalate”. His government has indicated they are holding “private” talks to maintain a “strong diplomatic footprint” in India

Here are 10 facts from this big story

Ottawa:

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly on Tuesday said that the country wants “private talks with India to resolve a diplomatic dispute” over the killing of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Reuters reported.

 “We are in contact with the government of India. We take Canadian diplomats’ safety very seriously and we will continue to engage privately because we think diplomatic conversations are best when they remain private,” Reuters quoted Joly as saying to reporters.

There is a strain in India-Canada relations following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations regarding the Indian government’s ‘potential role’ in the fatal shooting of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Nijjar, who was a designated terrorist in India, was gunned down outside a Gurdwara, in a parking area in Canada’s Surrey, British Columbia on June 18.

Trudeau, during a debate in the Canadian Parliament, claimed his country’s national security officials had reasons to believe that “agents of the Indian government” carried out the killing of the Canadian citizen, who also served as the president of Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.

However, India has outrightly rejected the claims, calling it ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’.

Notably, Canada has yet to provide any public evidence to support the claim about the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The country has said it wants to “work constructively with India” regarding the allegations.

Trudeau on Tuesday said that his country was not “looking to escalate the situation with India,” adding that Ottawa wants to remain on the ground in New Delhi to help Canadians, Reuters reported. 

“Canada is not looking to escalate the situation with India, will continue to engage responsibly and constructively with New Delhi. We want to be on the ground in India to help the Canadian families there,” Reuters quoted Trudeau as saying. 

Trudeau had said last week that Canada is still committed to building closer ties with India, despite “credible allegations of the Indian government’s involvement” in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canada-based National Post reported. India has rejected the claims as “absurd” and “motivated”.

Pointing to the increasing influence of India worldwide, Trudeau said that it is “extremely important” that Canada and its allies continue to engage with India.

“India is a growing economic power and important geopolitical player. And as we presented with our Indo-Pacific strategy, just last year, we’re very serious about building closer ties with India,” he had told reporters.

“At the same time, obviously, as a rule of law country, we need to emphasize that India needs to work with Canada to ensure that we get the full facts of this matter,” National Post quoted Trudeau as saying.

The Biden administration will likely try to stay out of the diplomatic dispute between Canada and India as much it can, aiming not to disrupt the progress it’s made in its relationship with PM Narendra Modi’s government, the founder of political strategy firm Signum Global Advisors says. “We’re doing everything we can to engage with India to try to help outcompete China, and I don’t think the United States is going to get too involved” in the dispute, Signum Chairman Charles Myers said on BNN Bloomberg Television. Myers, former vice chairman at Evercore, is a longtime Democratic Party donor who has raised money for Biden.

Canada and India relations have been strained over the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot on June 18 in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week there’s “credible” evidence that links the Indian government to the murder of Nijjar. “Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Trudeau said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday urged India to work with Canada in its investigation in the case. “We want to see accountability, and it’s important that the investigation run its course and lead to that result,” he said.

But US and other allies have stopped short of taking any specific retaliatory measures, such as expelling Indian diplomats.

The Indian government, which denied involvement in the killing, has designated Nijjar as a Khalistani terrorist and criticized Trudeau’s government for not doing more to combat “anti-India activities” within the Indian diaspora in Canada.

Canada kicked out a senior Indian diplomat from the country, and India retaliated in a tit-for-tat move. India has suspended visa applications for Canadians, a measure that will choke off business and leisure travel from Canada if it’s kept in place for long.

“For Prime Minister Trudeau to even make these allegations public, he has to have very good intel and evidence, given how serious the allegation is,” said Myers. “If true, it is an example of state-sponsored terrorism on Canadian soil.”

Even so, the US is “going to try to stay out of this,” he said.

The Biden administration will likely try to stay out of the diplomatic dispute between Canada and India as much it can, aiming not to disrupt the progress it’s made in its relationship with PM Narendra Modi’s government, the founder of political strategy firm Signum Global Advisors says. “We’re doing everything we can to engage with India to try to help outcompete China, and I don’t think the United States is going to get too involved” in the dispute, Signum Chairman Charles Myers said on BNN Bloomberg Television. Myers, former vice chairman at Evercore, is a longtime Democratic Party donor who has raised money for Biden.

Canada and India relations have been strained over the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot on June 18 in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week there’s “credible” evidence that links the Indian government to the murder of Nijjar. “Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Trudeau said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday urged India to work with Canada in its investigation in the case. “We want to see accountability, and it’s important that the investigation run its course and lead to that result,” he said.

But US and other allies have stopped short of taking any specific retaliatory measures, such as expelling Indian diplomats.

The Indian government, which denied involvement in the killing, has designated Nijjar as a Khalistani terrorist and criticized Trudeau’s government for not doing more to combat “anti-India activities” within the Indian diaspora in Canada.

Canada kicked out a senior Indian diplomat from the country, and India retaliated in a tit-for-tat move. India has suspended visa applications for Canadians, a measure that will choke off business and leisure travel from Canada if it’s kept in place for long.

“For Prime Minister Trudeau to even make these allegations public, he has to have very good intel and evidence, given how serious the allegation is,” said Myers. “If true, it is an example of state-sponsored terrorism on Canadian soil.”

Even so, the US is “going to try to stay out of this,” he said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

Information shared by members of an intelligence-sharing alliance was part of what Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used to make public allegations of the Indian government’s possible involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the U.S. ambassador to Canada said.

“There was shared intelligence among ‘Five Eyes’ partners that helped lead Canada to [make] the statements that the prime minister made,” U.S. Ambassador David Cohen told Canadian CTV News network.

CTV News released some of Cohen’s comments late Friday, and the network said that it would air the full interview with the U.S. envoy on Sunday. No further details were released about the shared intelligence.

On Thursday, a Canadian official told The Associated Press that the allegation of India’s involvement in the killing is based on surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, including intelligence provided by a major ally — without saying which one.

The “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance is made up of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The relationship between Canada and India reached its lowest point in recent history when Mr. Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh separatist, in June in a Vancouver suburb. Both countries have expelled some top diplomats.

India, which has called the allegations “absurd,” also has stopped issuing visas to Canadian citizens and told Canada to reduce its diplomatic staff.

Canada has yet to provide public evidence to back Mr. Trudeau’s allegations.

Nijjar, a plumber who was born in India and became a Canadian citizen in 2007, had been wanted by India for years before he was gunned down in June outside the temple he led in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver.

The United States is in communication with India on Canada’s allegations that New Delhi was potentially involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil, the White House has said.

The US also remains in regular contact with the Canadian government, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday.

A diplomatic row erupted between India and Canada following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, in British Columbia on June 18.

India has rejected the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated” and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa’s expulsion of an Indian official over the case.

“We have engaged with the Indian government. But certainly, we’re not going to get into our private diplomatic conversations. But, yes, there have been conversations with our partners in the Indian government,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference.

“Obviously, we are deeply concerned, as he said as well… what the Prime Minister (of Canada) has referenced here. And so, we remain in regular contact with the Canadian… government and the Canadian partners,” she said.

Responding to questions, Jean-Pierre said she would not comment on diplomatic conversations.

Earlier this week, the US had said that it supports Canada’s efforts to investigate allegations of India’s involvement in the killing of Nijjar, observing that no country can get any “special exemption” for such kind of activities.

While Canada hasn’t yet provided any public evidence to back its claims, a media report said citing Canadian government sources that Ottawa’s allegations are based on both human and signals intelligence and inputs from an ally the Five Eye intelligence network.

The Five Eyes network is an intelligence alliance consisting of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

In a reflection of hardening of its position, India on Wednesday advised all its nationals living in Canada and those contemplating travelling there to exercise “utmost caution” in view of growing anti-India activities and “politically-condoned” hate crimes as well as “criminal violence” in that country.

Prime Minister Trudeau on Thursday said Canada is not looking to “provoke or cause problems” with India as he urged New Delhi to take the matter “extremely seriously” and work with Ottawa to “uncover the truth”.

The India-Canada ties have been reeling under some strain for the last few months in view of increasing activities of the pro-Khalistani elements in the North American country. India believes the Trudeau government is not addressing its genuine concerns.